The Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary situated in Pratapgarh and Chittaurgarh districts of Rajasthan Rajasthan, India, declared as a protected forest area by the Government of Rajasthan Notification No. F 11 (9) Revenue/8/79, dated 2/11/1979. It is a dense forest, with an area of 422.95 square kilometers, which is about 40% of the total land area of the district. The land is undulating because of the confluence of three different formations — Malwa Plateau, the Vindhyachal Hills and Aravali mountain ranges.[1]
The sanctuary is located between 74 degrees 25' E and 24 degrees 04' N in Pratapgarh and Chittaurgarh districts of Rajasthan.[2] The average elevation ranges between 280 and 600 metres above mean sea level with an average rainfall of 756mm annually. The temperature variation during winter is between 6 and 14 degrees Celsius and in summer is between 32 and 45 degrees.[citation needed]
The thickly wooded Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary sprawls over the Aravali ranges and the Malwaplateau, with the seasonal rivers Jakham, Karmoi, Sitamata, Budhho, and Tankiya flowing through the forest. Jakham is the largest. It is located about 45km from Pratapgarh and 108km from the divisional headquarters. Udaipur, the sanctuary, covering 423km2 of mainly dry deciduousvegetation has exceptionally rich flora and fauna. The Champion and Seth forest type of Sita Mata is "IInd Dry Tropical Forest".
Pratapgarh is well connected with major cities in Rajasthan, Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh by road. Daily bus services connect pratapgarh with Chittorgarh (110km), Banswara (85km), Udaipur (165km), Dungarpur (195km), Rajsamand (133km), Jodhpur (435km), Jaipur (432km) in Rajasthan; Ratlam (85km), Mandsaur (32km) in M.P. and Delhi (705km). Pratapgarh is yet to be connected with a railway line. The nearest railway stations are Mandsaur (M.P.) (28km) & Chittorgarh (110km). Dabok Airport (Udaipur) is 145km.
Flora
It is the only forest region where more than half of the trees are high building value teak.[citation needed] These include salar, tendu (Diospyros melonoxy Roxb.), bad, peepal, babool, neem, arinja (Acacia leucophaea), siras, churail, kachnar, gulmohar, amaltas, bakayan, ashok, mahua, semal, goondi, khejadi (Prosopis spicigera), kumta (Acacia rupestris), amla, bamboo, sindoor, chironjee, rudraksha and bel trees. A survey has been taken to document ethnobotanical information on plants used by the natives to construct their huts and hamlets. At least 31 different species are used to construct of various types of huts and hamlets in the sanctuary.[3] Of the 108 varieties of high value medicinal herbs found here, 17 are endangered.[4]
The flying squirrel (Petaurista philippensis) can be seen gliding from one tree to another around sunset in the Arampura forest, 17km away from Dhariawad . Its feeding activities are nocturnal and therefore it hides during the day time in its hollow in a Mahua tree. The best time to watch flying squirrels is between February and March, when most of the Mahua trees shed their leaves and it is easier to spot the squirrel gliding between branches of leafless trees.
The Asiatic lion, which used to occur in Rajasthan, is now confined to Gujarat. Sita Mata Sanctuary had been considered as a place to relocate some lions, but the availability of prey was deemed to be negligible. Also, the area was prone to human disturbance.[6]
Tourist attractions
Rock Painting at the sanctuary
It houses ancient Valmiki Ashram (the birthplace of Luv and Kush, the twins born to Sita and Lord Rama), the Hanuman and Sitamata temples, and other places of historical and mythological importance. Another place of interest in the sanctuary, 5km from Tikhi Magri, is Lakhiya Bhata, where drawings of prehistoric animals are engraved on rocks. There is a fair held in the sanctuary at the Sita Mata temple every July.
Further reading
Collins' Handguide to the birds of Indian sub-continent, Martin W. Woodcock, William Collins Sons & Co., London, 1980
A synopsis of the Birds of India and Pakistan, S.Dillon Ripley, 1961
A Study of Avifauna of the Rajasthan State (India), Dr. Dhirendra Devarshi, 2004
Meena, K. L. & Yadav, B. L. 2008. Floral resources of Rajasthan with special reference to Sitamata wildlife sanctuary.
Geographical aspects. Proceedings of the 35th National conference of Rajasthan geography Association. MLV Government College, Bhilwara. Vol. IX, pp.6–65.
Meena, K. L. 2014. Flora of Wildlife Sanctuary. Discovery Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
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↑ Kanhaiya Lal Meena, Vimala Dhaka, Prakash Chandra Ahir. 2013. "Traditional Uses of Ethnobotanical Plants for Construction of the Hut and Hamlets in the Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary of Rajasthan, India." Journal of Energy and Natural Resources. Department of Botany, M. L. V. Government College Bhilwara 311001, Rajasthan, India. Vol. 2, No. 5, 2013, pp.33–40.
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